So our Mass goes back, without essential change, to the age when it first developed out of the oldest liturgy of all. It is still redolent of that liturgy, of the days when Cæsar ruled the world and thought he could stamp out the faith of Christ, when our fathers met together before dawn and sang a hymn to Christ as to a God. The final result of our enquiry is that, in spite of unsolved problems, in spite of later changes, there is not in Christendom another rite so venerable as ours. ~Fortescue

Saturday, December 29, 2007

In a previous post, I showed a picture of the traditional Mitre-tiara of the Patriarch of Lisbon. (This was one of the liturgical privileges given to them in the past - many of them at the insistent request of King João). The above picture shows a *modern* Mitre-tiara worn by Patriarch Antonio Ribeiro.

Notice the three bands, which are supposed to resemble the 3 rings of a tiara. They could do much better than that!

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Now, this is a picture of the Fanon worn by the Patriarch of Lisbon in the past - another liturgical privilege granted to them by Popes. I do not think that they wear the Fanon anymore.

Saturday, December 22, 2007

By becoming the Son of Man, the all-powerful Word of God subjugated the whole of sensible nature to men of good will; it is all men of good will that nature protects under the clouds of His luminous Presence, it is all men of good will who can henceforth traverse dry-shod the Red Sea of sin, of suffering, and of death. The benediction promised Abraham is no longer limited to his race: it extends to infinity in space and time, to every point where there is a man of good will.

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There was, then, this nocturnal silence, and afterward the event, at once carnal and spiritual, of the birth of the Son of Man, which brought to fulfillment not only the gestation of a woman among women, but the millennial expectation of Israel. It is an essentially poetic event which sings by itself. The Word of God takes on a unique body, destined to glory and incorruptibility. It is, in fact, the most essentially and completely poetic event that has ever taken place in the whole history of the world. In this Newborn Infant, the Old Testament rises to ecstasy and reaches its consummation in a single Word, the most concrete, the most moving, the most definite Word that ever has been, a Word with an infinity of resonance.

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We must believe that the Son of God was simultaneously on earth and in heaven and that if His destiny goes from eternity to eternity it is nevertheless never separated from eternity; it is contained in it like a sphere in a larger sphere. Through His Incarnation, by becoming a Man, Jesus did not immerse Himself in time; he drew time into His own eternity. Jesus Christ is youth itself, perpetually welling forth and perpetually renewed. In Him eternity swallows up not only the years but the whole of time entire. For every man, natural birth is the end of a period of maturation of nine months; it is the fruit that detaches itself naturally from the tree. The Birth of Jesus is that too, but it is above all the appearance in our shadowy and miserable world of the sweetness and the smile of God: “Apparuit benignitas…” – “The goodness and kindness of God our Savior appeared…”

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When Saint Leo, the Pope, wished to define for the faithful the significance of Christmas, he gave an urgent exhortation which has not, alas, lost any of its timeliness: “Agnosce, O Christiane, dignitatem tuam…” “Christians, be on your guard, be conscious of your dignity. You have been made participants in the divine nature. Do not, through your conduct, fall once more to the level of your former decadence.”

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Since the optimism of the humanist and of the philosophy of the enlightenment has sunk in ridicule and dismay under the impact of the experience of two world wars, in which the nature of man revealed itself as even more disquieting than had been imagined, we are witnesses to a vast plot to defame humanity and particularly the image of God in man. For some thirty years literature, motion pictures, and even philosophy, not to mention political and economic theories, have been trying to convince us that we emerge from nothingness and return to nothingness after a fugitive career in which our loftiest motives of action hardly rise above the level of the most elementary appetites and instincts – I might almost say the level of tropisms. If man in truth is nothing that but, what good is man? And if that is the case I say very seriously that it is an insult to the noblest animals, such as cats and horses, to put man in the same class with them.

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May those Christians who have allowed themselves to be swept away by this vogue bestir their intelligence, pluck up the courage of their convictions, and recapture some insolence of contempt toward images of human nature that are false and so degrading. And may the light of Christmas, rising on our night, put to flight all such timorous hobgoblins.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Hello! Now is time to include what Mgr. Nabuco has to say about the Papal Falda.

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[For those of you wondering why the posts are in Latin: I do not have a lot of time to post frequently. It would take time to translate the post into English, Spanish or Italian AND then type them, too. For those of you who are able to translate these small interesting pieces on the Vestments and are *willing* to share them, let me know. A friend of mine had the time and the will to translate some of these posts into Italian. If you can read Italian better than Latin and would like to read it, let me know and I will send it to you... If not, then just enjoy the pictures!].

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Conformably to the designs of Our Lord, the Church has ordained that there should be for each of them (orders) a particular class of ministers, that some should be established to watch over the holy place, others to instruct the faithful, others to defend them against the devil and withdraw them from his power, still others to prepare the sanctuary and to decorate the altar, etc. Moreover it has been determined that one may arrive at the higher powers only progressively, mounting degree by degree, that each new order be super-added to the preceding orders, and that the lower be dependent on the higher. {Si quis dixerit non esse in Ecclesia ordines et majores et minores, per quos velut per gradus quosdam in sacerdotium tendatur, anathema sit. CONG. TRID., Sess. xxm, can. 2. Ordinis sacramentum est thronus ille eburneus mystici Salomonis, cujus reclinatorium aureum, ad quern ascenditur sex gradibus purpureis, media caritate constratis. PET. BLES}.

Thus, the pontificate or the plenitude of priestly power which resides in the Bishop, is distributed by ordination into seven distinct orders, the one subordinate to the other: the priesthood, which gives the power to offer and consecrate the Divine Host; the diaconate, charged with its distribution; the subdiaconate, to which belongs the duty of preparing the matter of the sacrifice and the sacred vessels; the order of acolyte, to which belongs the care of the altar and the lights; the order of exorcist, which keeps out the unworthy and frees those possessed; the order of lector, which proclaims the word of God and assists the hearers to penetrate into its spirit; the order of ostiary, which guards the property of the House of God and assembles the faithful.

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These seven powers successively conferred, beginning with the last, are superimposed one upon the other without ever disappearing or coming in conflict, so that in the priesthood, the highest of them all, they are all found. The priest unites them all in his person and has to exercise them all his life in the various offices of his ministry. They are as the seven columns of the living temple which the Incarnate Wisdom has raised up to the Divine Majesty. {Sapentia sedificavit sibi domum, excidit columnas septem, immolavit victimas suas, miscuit vinum et proposuit mensam suam. PROV., ix, 1}.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Monday, December 10, 2007

I have found a picture of the Mitre-tiara that used to be worn by the Patriarch of Lisbon as a privilege given to him. I have also found a picture of the sedia gestatoria that the same Patriarch was allowed to have and preach from, but he could not use it for procession or things like that - just preach (I'm pretty sure).

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This Mitre, from far away, is supposed to resemble a (papal) Tiara. That is the purpose of the three lines of jewls on it. Of course, the top will always look like a Mitre, even from far away, because it is a Mitre! However, the tiara (very different from the Papal one) is still part of coat of arms of the Patriarch of Lisbon. Check their website!

Now, this is a picture (very small, though) of the sedia and the flabella used by the Patriarch. The sedia looks smaller than the Papal one and not as wide. The flabella are much smaller, too.

† Do not destroy your genuflections. Bring your right knee down to the ground close to your left foot, keeping head and shoulders erect.

† Sign yourself (†) when the Priest begins to read the Introit, except during Masses for the deceased.

†ALWAYS make the reverences every time the Most Holy Name of Our Lord (Jesus or Jesus Christ, but not just Christ), the Name of Our Lady (Mary), the name of the reigning Pontiff, and name of the Saint of the day are mentioned (This does not occur on Sundays).

† Do not rush about the Sanctuary, and do not dawdle, either.

† Do not be afraid to join your hands properly: palms together, right thumb over left. If one hand is doing something, place the unoccupied hand on your heart. (Your heart is not right over to the left).

†ALWAYS remember to genuflect every time you pass in front of the Tabernacle.

† Do not rub the cruet against the Priest's fingers at the Lavabo. Leave him room to move his fingers.

† DO NOT hand the Priest anything with your LEFT hand.

† Do not ring the bell as though it were an alarm. The bell is a signal.

† Do not fail to watch for the Dómine non sum dignus. Remember that the Priest has to say it in a low tone, and if there is a noise, you might not hear him.

†DO NOT stretch along the Altar to pour wine into the Chalice. Go quietly up to the side of the Priest. Be ready to do so as soon as you return to the Altar.

† DO NOT rest your hands on the Altar. Only the Celebrant may do that, and he only sometimes.

† DO NOT lean against the Altar.

†NEVER walk backwards. The back of the cassock is longer than the front.

† When you are sitting down, rest your hands flat on your lap.

† Always be attentive during the Mass and the Sermon. DO NOT look around the church or directly at the congregation.

† When you help the Priest to distribute Holy Communion, DO NOT turn the Communion plate over as there might be some Particles of the Blessed Sacrament on it.